Spada Ascent £199.99

Protection, comfort and warmth combined

The Spada is a nicely shaped jacket which comes up large — we had to go down a size as the XL was huge. Fit was good and there were no feelings of cold anywhere while in the freezer — the neck’s neoprene edging kept draughts out. On the bike, it still needed pulling in at the waist but it was easy to get on with the thermal liner zipped in all round. On the road ride, there seemed to be a feeling of chill at the front, which perhaps is down to the waist-strap reinforcing plastic rings. There was a slightly clammy feel to it nonetheless but the vents allowed some cooling air in with the thermal liner in place, though they were more effective with it removed. The vents are accessible without taking the jacket off and with gloves on, except the shoulder vents, which don’t have pull toggles. Armour doesn’t feel particularly sturdy but it is Level-2 with a Level-1 back protector included. In the wet test, the neck leaked on par with some others and the outer pockets were all wet. It absorbed a huge amount of water though — by far the most in the test, meaning it got very heavy though it didn’t leak to the body.

VERDICT

Protective, though extreme wet weather performance could be better.

Spada Ascent £199.99

A good fit and offers excellent comfort and protection on every ride but could be better in extreme conditions

Held Zorro £157.99

A good, comfortable fit, a high-quality feel and it did a great job of keeping water out but average protection